Unique retirement community expanding options to range from independent to assisted living

December 24, 2008

PHOENIX – Although the average age of residents is 82 in the independent living patio homes at Baptist Village, you would never know it from the conversation at a recent noon meal at the clubhouse. Ages of those enjoying a delicious hot lunch ranged from mid-60 to the elder looking forward to her 95th birthday in January. Topics ranged from a recent outing for pizza in the evening to shopping for gifts for grandchildren to the new golf cart one resident recently acquired to “zip” around the community.

Conveniently located off Cave Creek Road just north of the 101, the 20 year old community consisting of 77 patio homes was acquired by Arizona Baptist Retirement Centers (ABRC) 15 years ago. It is a unique, private setting where residents of all faiths enjoy the privacy of their own individual maintenance free homes. With sizes ranging from one bedroom/one bath to two bedroom/two bath, each unit has a private carport, utility room, full kitchen and a 24 hour response system. Amenities include an on-site Chapel, indoor swimming pool, activities and transportation as well as a woodworking shop.
There are four communities in the Valley owned and operated by ABRC and they recently opened three assisted living homes at the west Valley campus. The three GREEN HOUSE® Homes under construction at the Northeast Phoenix campus are well under way to opening in February 2009. According to Lori Paetz, Vice President of Marketing, “we wanted to be able to offer our residents a higher level of care right in the community where they have been living.”

The innovative concept of GREEN HOUSE® Homes was developed by leading gerontologist and Harvard-trained physician, Dr. William Thomas. Each 7,000 sq. ft. home will have ten private rooms, each with individual bathroom, which open onto a common area for socializing and dining around a large family style table. Paetz commented that “the unique design encourages the residents to socialize and participate in everyday activities such as meal planning and setting the table.”

Three meals a day will be provided at the GREEN HOUSE® Homes. Residents of the homes have access to all of the amenities of the community. Care ranges from minimum supervision to directed care. There are caregivers on site 24 hours a day. Each receives over 120 hours of training including CPR, first aid, activities and food preparation.

Lori Paetz has first hand experience at caring for an aging parent who suffered a stroke. She has developed a workshop for the public—Caring for An Aging Parent—which covers topics from medical conditions to creating a notebook with copies of all important documents to legal issues. “All of us want to do as much as we possibly can in caring for our parents, even bringing them into our homes. However, sometimes their care is just beyond our ability, especially in cases of dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or the aftereffects of a stroke.”

Paetz is very excited about bringing the level of care provided at the GREEN HOUSE® Homes to the Northeast Baptist Village campus. On a recent tour of the construction site she commented, “we already have people from our community here signing up and requesting specific rooms. In the case of a couple, where one needs more assistance than the partner can provide, one can stay in the patio home and visit with their partner daily.”

For more information or a tour of the new GREEN HOUSE® Homes, contact Lori Paetz at 602-569-0508 or lpaetz@abrc.org. The website for Arizona Baptist Retirement Communities is www.abrc.org.

Courtesy Photo: New GREEN HOUSE® Homes at Baptist Village Northeast Phoenix community will be staffed 24/7 by caregivers with over 120 hours of training.

December 24, 2008

PHOENIX – John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix has been granted the highest possible accreditation as a Chest Pain Center with PCI (percutaneous cardiac intervention, also known as angioplasty) in recognition of its rapid and effective medical care for heart patients.

Of the 6,000-plus hospitals in the United States, only about 1,500 carry this designation, awarded by the international Society of Chest Pain Centers.

North Mountain’s track record – consistently evaluating the cause of emergency patients’ chest pain and starting appropriate medical treatment in less time than the national 90-minute standard – was a key factor that led to its accreditation.

“Our Level I Trauma and Emergency Department staff exceeded all of the current guidelines and recommendations for acute heart attack care – and our technology is on the cutting edge,” said Gary Kauffman, MD, FACC, interventional cardiologist and director of Cardiology Services at North Mountain Hospital.

Quick medical attention is of utmost importance when patients have a heart attack, Dr. Kauffman said. When patients have heart attacks, flow of fresh oxygenated blood to the heart muscle is restricted or totally blocked. Without fresh blood, heart muscle starts to die.

Balloon angioplasty restores blood flow to the heart, and 90 percent of the time, North Mountain patients receive that treatment in less time than the national standard.
“The faster you can get the artery open, the better the outcome is going to be for a patient to resume normal activities because less damage will be done to the heart,” Dr. Kauffman explained.

To be credentialed as a Chest Pain Center with PCI, a facility must successfully meet the Society’s standards in eight key areas:
•Emergency Department integration with the state’s Emergency Medical System.
•Timely assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients with chest pain.
•Observation program to monitor/evaluate low-risk patients with no obvious cause for chest pain as well as to avoid discharging patients with undiagnosed but serious problems.
•Facilities designed for optimal care.
•Leadership, physicians and nurses trained to specialize in care for patients with heart attack symptoms.
•Operations based on continuous quality improvement to ensure quality care and proper use of resources.
•Commitment to community outreach to educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they have chest pain or other disease symptoms.
John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital also is accredited as a Chest Pain Center with PCI, and both John C. Lincoln Hospitals have been credentialed by the state of Arizona as Cardiac Arrest Centers in recognition of their state-of-the-art treatment of patients whose hearts have stopped beating.

Health Briefs

Volunteer some holiday cheer
HOUSTON – To give is better than to receive – but volunteering can accomplish both in one fell swoop, says a Baylor College of Medicine psychiatry expert.
Volunteering not only helps those in need but also returns the favor by improving the giver's psychological state, according to Dr. James Lomax, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at BCM in Houston.
If you do something that others then feel grateful for and respond positively to, it usually creates positive emotions in the person that is giving as well as in the person receiving. Volunteering may also prevent post-holiday blues by introducing a different perspective to the season and keeping expectations realistic, even for children.
Wrapping and delivering gifts or food to less fortunate families, for instance, instills a therapeutic sense of community and generosity, rendering volunteer service a unique gift that gives back, said Lomax.

Fight gravity for full lips
HOUSTON – Want a puffy pout like Angelina Jolie? A simple technique called lip suspension may work better than injections alone to achieve bee-stung beautiful lips.
"As a woman ages, gravity causes the length between the nose and the lips to become longer," said Dr. Esser Yuksel, an assistant professor of microsurgery and aesthetic surgery in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. "The red part of the lips shows less and less, the lips become narrower and the corners drop."
Lip suspension involves inserting sutures through the inside of the nose to the underside of the upper lip, lifting the lip up and out. The procedure takes 10 to 15 minutes and is done under local anesthetic. Healing takes about two to four weeks.
The final result restores the upper lip to its more youthful position and makes it look fuller. For an even fuller look, fat or scar tissue harvested from the patient can be injected into the lip.

Exercise does the elderly body good
HOUSTON – Exercise can't stop the aging process, but experts at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston say that for the elderly, whether it's weight training, walking, swimming or biking, 30 minutes of exercise three to five times a week is a good prescription.
Resistance weight training has been shown to be the best way to reduce the loss of lean muscle, said Dr. Robert Roush, an associate professor of medicine-geriatrics at BCM. Resistance training also increases cardiovascular fitness and it makes your bones stronger, too.
Exercise can improve your overall health, reduce stress, help weight control, provide arthritis relief and help you get a better night's rest.
If you are not already active, you should start slowly. Begin with exercises that you are already comfortable doing. Starting slowly makes it less likely that you will injure yourself. And one should always warm up, cool down, and stretch before and after any exercise routine.
Once you start, watch for warning signs like dizziness, excessive shortness of breath or pain or pressure in the chest while exercising or shortly thereafter.